Bill Trinen – more to come for Miitomo, future of Nintendo on mobile, possibility of physical My Nintendo rewards
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 11 Comments
IGN recently had the opportunity to speak with Nintendo’s Bill Trinen about Miitomo, Nintendo’s future on mobile, and My Nintendo.
First, here’s what Trinen had to say about Miitomo and keeping the app updated going forward:
“Our development team is looking at it very much as just the initial release. They do have plans to continue to update. They’ll probably start by looking at how people are playing with Miitomo and how they’re interacting with it. But I think they’re looking at a couple of different ways that Miitomo will grow over time.”
“Certainly some of the updates are the addition of new outfits or new versions of the Miitomo drop mini-game, which you play using game tickets. You can even see, on the simpler side, updates to the questions you’re asked. But I also think they’re going to be looking longer term at the opportunity to do bigger updates that might add in new features and expand the experience.”
More: Bill Trinen, interview, Miitomo, My Nintendo, top
Zero Time Dilemma director on the game’s violence, not holding back this time
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 6 Comments
Zero Time Dilemma is a violent experience, especially when compared to its predecessor. Producer Kotaro Uchikoshi spoke about this aspect of the game with Siliconera.
Uchikoshi stated that the team was “holding back” with Virtue’s Last Reward. Given the importance of this entry though – the finality of it all – Spike Chunsoft decided to go all out.
He explained:
“I spoke with the producer, Iizuka-san, and since this is the third and final entry in the series we should do all of the things that we’ve always wanted too. We were holding back before, but this is a chance to do everything. Since the game revolves around making absolute decisions life and death hangs in the balance. If we were to pull our punches, it would take away a lot of the narrative impact. By making the violence more extreme it makes the choices hit home.”
Mortal Kombat, APB were considered for LEGO Dimensions’ Midway Arcade pack
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 4 Comments
For the most part, the team behind LEGO Dimensions managed to include the games they wanted to in the new Midway Arcade pack. There were a couple that were scrapped though. Mortal Kombat and APB both did not make it into the final product.
Mark Warburton, associate producer of LEGO Dimensions, explained to Polygon that Mortal Kombat didn’t make it in given the main demographic the game is targeted at. In the end, it just wasn’t the best fit.
Warburton said:
“There was an age consideration. We had to take into account the typical age of our players and what sort of content we usually have. Some of the more mature games we decided we didn’t think was the right fit for the game.”
More: interview, LEGO Dimensions, Mark Warburton, TT Games
Inti Creates on Azure Striker Gunvolt 2’s English translation, will have Japanese voices
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 13 Comments
Were you not entirely satisfied with Azure Striker Gunvolt’s English translation? If so, you may be pleased to hear that 8-4, who localized the first game and is in charge of the sequel, is handling things a bit differently the second time around.
Inti Creates president Takuya Aizu told Skybane the following regarding Azure Striker Gunvolt 2’s translation:
“We are working with 8-4 again on the translation, but as you may know, we got a lot of feedback from the first game in regards to what people thought of its English translation. The team at 8-4 is very much aware of that feedback, so the translation for Gunvolt 2 may vary a little bit from what you saw with the first game. We have the utmost faith in 8-4’s abilities, and have no doubts in our minds that they will produce a fabulous translation.”
Aizu also confirmed that Japanese voices will be included in Azure Striker Gunvolt 2. Meanwhile, Inti Creates is still planning on bringing the first game’s Steam update to 3DS which adds Japanese voices and a re-translation.
Take a look at the latest Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 concept art above. It gives us another look at Gunvolt’s new design.
Pokemon CEO on the series’ early days and rise in popularity, bringing it west, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Mobile, News | 6 Comments
A few weeks ago, Japanese outlet Inside Games published a lengthy interview with Pokemon CEO/president Tsunekazu Ishihara. There was a tiny bit about the current status/future of the series (Pokemon GO), but it was more reflective about the franchise in general and its past. Ishihara went in-depth about how the game series started and the importance of the Link Cable which helped boost popularity, bringing the franchise overseas and naming Pokemon, and more.
It took some time, but we now have a complete translation of the interview. Head past the break to read it in full.
More: Game Freak, interview, Pokemon, Pokemon GO, top, Tsunekazu Ishihara
Nintendo UK on Yo-kai Watch’s western potential, says “3DS has still got a big life ahead of it”
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 18 Comments
As part of a new feature on Yo-kai Watch, MCV spoke with Nintendo UK product manager Remy van Leeuwen about the series.
First, van Leeuwen discussed Yo-kai Watch’s potential in the west. The Yo-kai themselves, their emotional abilities, and the comedy aspect could all help to connect with kids.
He said:
“It is difficult to say whether it will have the same impact in the West, but I definitely think that there is a lot of potential for it, especially working together with the likes of [toy company] Hasbro and [TV company] Turner. Everyone is going to back it to its fullest. Because of the nature of Yo-kai and their emotional abilities, it makes it quite easy for kids to relate to them. For instance, there is a Yo-kai called Cheeksqueek, which basically makes people fart. That’s been a hit with kids in our research.”
“One of the other key aspects that will definitely resonate with kids in the UK is the comedy aspect to it. The characters themselves are just funny, and they’re quite deep, too. We will be trying to bring that out in our campaign.”
More: interview, Level-5, Remy van Leeuwen, top, Yo-kai Watch
Reggie on Miitomo – why it doesn’t have real-time messaging, “long-term opportunity”, mobile goals, more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News | 12 Comments
Members of the media recently went hands-on with Miitomo, which also included some interview opportunities. TIME is one outlet that has an interview up with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. During the discussion, Reggie commented on why Miitomo doesn’t have real-time messaging, “long-term” plans for the app, mobile goals, and more.
Head past the break for some of Reggie’s remarks. You can read the full interview on TIME here.
More: interview, Miitomo, Reggie Fils-Aime, top
Fire Emblem Fates developer discussion: “A Tale of Two Families: Revelation”
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Videos | 2 Comments
Nintendo is continuing its developer series based on Fire Emblem Fates. Check out the third episode below called “A Tale of Two Families: Revelation”.
More: Fire Emblem Fates, interview, top
Rebellion CEO praises Nintendo, has no idea what NX is
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 11 Comments
Last week, Videogamer spoke with Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley to talk Nintendo, including the NX.
Regarding the company in general, Kingsley had only good things to say about the Big N. He told the site:
“Nintendo are brilliant. They’re a fabulous company and I love them. I always feel they’re quite eccentric. They come up with some incredible hardware. Even the Virtual Boy back in the day was really intriguing, and then the clamshell design of their handhelds. To be honest, I just don’t know [whether Rebellion will support NX]. The only way I can answer the question is, when we know what the machine is we’ll see and we’ll have a look. I’ve always loved Nintendo, I love their games and love their hardware.”
As for NX, Kingsley has no idea about what the system actually is at this point. He therefore can’t commit to or rule out support until more information has surfaced, though the door is being left open.
More: interview, Jason Kingsley, Rebellion
Miyamoto on Project Giant Robot – “we haven’t yet decided to turn that into a full game”
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 136 Comments
During the latest Nintendo Direct, it was revealed that Project Guard became Star Fox Guard. This was a title that originally debuted at E3 2014 alongside Project Giant Robot. Some may be curious about that game’s status.
In an interview with TIME, Shigeru Miyamoto indicated that Project Giant Robot hasn’t materialized into a full experience. He told the publication:
“‘Project Giant Robot’ was something we started as a second project, and unfortunately we haven’t yet decided to turn that into a full game.”
Will we eventually see Project Giant Robot become its own thing? Or will it remain as only a temporary E3 demo? Only time will tell!
